[254] Gen 17:3-9;Ps 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; John 8:51-59.
Hours of the day.
Anniversary:
119th anniversary of the death of P. Isidore Lallemand (82) d. 1945 at Cape Town, RSA.
Anniversary:
53rd anniversary of the death of F. William Nash (87) d. 2011 at London, England.
Anniversary:
44th anniversary of the death of P. Roland Lesseps (UCS) (87) d. 2020 at Grand Coteau, LA, USA.
On this day in our Jesuit history...
1540
Simon Rodriguez sets out for India. He is the first Jesuit missionary. 1547. Ignatius wrote a letter to Jesuits in Spain on religious perfection.
1540
Xavier, chosen in Father Nicholas Bobadilla's place left Rome for the Indies... St. Ignatius' parting words were, "Ite omnia incendite et inflammate."
1548
Fr. Anthony Corduba, rector of the College of Salamanca, begged Ignatius to admit him into the Society so as to escape the cardinalate which Charles V intended to procure for him.
1587
The death at Messina of Thomas Evans, a Jesuit who had suffered imprisonment for his defense of the Catholic faith in England. He was 28 at the time of his death.
1708
By a decree of Pope Clement XI the convent of Port Royal, a nest of Jansenism, was suppressed.
1766
A forged letter (the work of Choiseul) from Father General Ricci to the Spanish Provincial, imputing illegitimacy to King Charles III, was shown to that monarch, who at once became the Society’s implacable enemy.
1840
Among the North American Indians, Father Peter de Smet was welcomed with great joy, being the first "Blackrobe" seen among them since the Suppression.
1840
Peter de Smet set out from St. Louis on his first trip to the Rocky Mountains at the invitation of a delegation from the Salishan people in what is now Montana. This exploratory trip resulted in starting amission to the Indians a year later.
